Tape hiss removal plug-in suggestions?

kevinmathie · Post by **kevinmathie** » Wed Dec 20, 2006 1:22 pm

I'm transferring some old audio tapes to CD for a family member (family history kind of stuff), and I want to remove the tape hiss.

Maybe I'm on drugs or something, but I could have sworn that DP used to have a tape hiss removal plug-in! Didn't it? Or am I thinking of the old DINR plug-in in ProTools?

Well, either way, I don't have ProTools anymore, and I can't seem to find a tape hiss removal plug-in in my current version of DP 5. So, is there a good but fairly inexpensive plug-in you can recommend?

I hate to get anything too expensive, because the only time I'm ever going to need it is for these kinds of projects. And these kinds of projects -- being family projects -- are almost always done for free. I haven't had a client that needed a tape transferred to CD for years.

Anyway, any suggestion you could give me would be appreciated.

Thanks!
Kevin

hellcat · Post by **hellcat** » Wed Dec 20, 2006 2:33 pm

I've used BIAS sound soap, both pro and the regular, for taking away all sorts of noise or tape hiss, album scratches..... worked for me!

daniel.sneed · Post by **daniel.sneed** » Wed Dec 20, 2006 2:34 pm

There's one in Audacity. It's free !

mhschmieder · Post by **mhschmieder** » Wed Dec 20, 2006 4:40 pm

I didn't notice the one in Audacity, but I rarely use it now that I have BIAS Peak (though sometimes Audacity can be more expedient as it's faster).

I have been using the non-pro version of BIAS SoundSoap and and very pleased with it. The material I am archiving is primarily spoken word, so I find its algorithms work very well in such cases. For more critical music content, you might want a more sophisticated tool.

If you have WaveArts plug-ins, their channel strip plug-in has a very powerful and flexible EQ section that can do a pretty good job with 60 Hz hum, 50 hz hum (and harmonics), tape hiss, etc. Use several instances back-to-back with different filters to achieve the tape scrubbing effect.

burp182 · Post by **burp182** » Wed Dec 20, 2006 4:57 pm

I agree that both versions of SoundSoap are very effective. Also, the Waves bundle that includes their De-Click, De-Crackle, De-noise and whatever else it has is expensive but amazing in their effectiveness. The next step is CEDAR and that'll have you marveling at how cheap Waves seems.

Resonant Alien · Post by **Resonant Alien** » Wed Dec 20, 2006 6:34 pm

BIAS Soundsoap

Hide · Post by **Hide** » Wed Dec 20, 2006 6:47 pm

I'm not sure but how about +spectralcompand of spectral shapers bundle?

davedempsey · Post by **davedempsey** » Wed Dec 20, 2006 10:13 pm

For this particular project Soundsoap will be more than enough - it works very well and transparently if you don't overdo it. It'll help with the tape hiss and also power cycle hum and rumble. It has a click and crackle removal function and post enhance function (which can be a quick and easy way to adjust for any minor tone degradation incurred during the noise reduction process).
I also have the Waves Restoration Bundle (De-Click, De-Noise etc)and Z-Noise for more critical work but Soundsoap is a lot better than it's price tag might imply.

grimepoch · Post by **grimepoch** » Thu Dec 21, 2006 1:46 pm

Soundsoap. The one in Audacity did not work as well for me, when it wasn't crashing

rainmaker · Post by **rainmaker** » Fri Dec 22, 2006 11:03 am

TC Electronic Powercore units, at least most of the models, come with a plug-in called De-Noise which works extremely well. It's part of their very expensive Restoration bundle. If you buy the right pack, you get the Powercore card and all the plugs included.

monkey man · Post by **monkey man** » Sat Dec 23, 2006 3:01 am

The PoCo PCI MkII has it bundled.
It's actually the main reason I bought PoCo, as I had a great deal of speech stuff that needed cleaning up.
ClassicVerb just sweetened the deal.

I hadn't previously come forward with this as it's PCI based, but now that it's mentioned...
IMHO, it rocks.

Funny, now that I've cleaned said audio up, ClassicVerb's all that's keeping this thing in my rig.

wvandyck · Post by **wvandyck** » Sat Dec 23, 2006 7:29 am

monkey man wrote:The PoCo PCI MkII has it bundled.
It's actually the main reason I bought PoCo, as I had a great deal of speech stuff that needed cleaning up.
...

The PoCo DeNoise plug-in works really well with tape hiss.
So does PSP MixTreble preset: hissRem3

monkey man · Post by **monkey man** » Sun Dec 24, 2006 4:26 am

Yup.

Automatic mode gives a good result, but noise-print-sampling 1.5 sec+ (if you can) of "silence" allows crisper attacks, even less artifacts and a generally brighter result without the necessity of bias adjustment.

That's just what I've found, and about all I know regarding this plug.

I wanted to set the record straight after yesterday's post, too:
Whilst it was initially for ClassicVerb, the denoise plug is the main reason I've hung on to PoCo, not ClassicVerb.
I'd forgotten that I'd decided it was so damn efficient it'd be worth keeping around for cleaning up serious takes and multitrack work, assuming I ever got to do any(!).
I love ClassicVerb, but based on what fellow 'Cornies have said, MasterVerb and Altiverb'd more than do the job. One day. Just not today.

Another 2• goes "ching" in the Unicorn-piggy bank.

mhschmieder · Post by **mhschmieder** » Mon Jan 08, 2007 2:35 pm

WaveArts has just announced master restoration Suite (MSRP $499, with individual components available for $149 each). You can find the announcement at harmony-central's main news page.

I am not at all surprised, as I was already able to use their track plug-in to great effect (especially in back-to-back instances) for audio restoration work, as they had so many specialised filters available compared even to Waves (at least within the context of a single track-based non-restoration-specific plug-in).

I already have SoundSoap, but I will be interested if there is a demo, as this program may well fill the niche in the middle between the beginner programs (which actually do work quite well) and the uber-expensive pro programs.

monkey man · Post by **monkey man** » Tue Jan 09, 2007 5:33 am

Gee, thanks for the heads-up, mhschmieder!

At $149 for the "denoise" plug, and assuming it works (I kinda trust WaveArts), that's surely a great suggestion for kevinmathie.
In fact, once I ditch PoCo (it's gotta happen sometime) for Alitverb, I'll have a look at this plug as a replacement, too.

Thanks again, mhschmieder.

MM

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Tape hiss removal plug-in suggestions?

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